Following are the important business news carried by leading financial dailies on Wednesday Nov. 07, 2012:

Business Standard

Delta Corp increases stake in Daman Hospitality to 87.16%Delta Corp has increased stake in Daman Hospitality to 87.16% through conversion of fully convertible debentures. Delta Hospitality and Leisure Private (DHLPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Corp has increased its equity holding in Daman Hospitality (DHPL) through a conversion of fully convertible debentures, Delta Corp said in a filing to BSE.

Force Motors eyes 40,000 unit sales in FY13Pune-based commercial vehicle maker Force Motors said it aims to sell 40,000 vehicles in 2012-13, a growth of 25% from the last fiscal. The company, which is targeting a turnover of Rs 27.5 billion in the current financial year, also said it will roll out a high-end passenger vehicle in 2013.

BHEL signs pact with Shell for gas turbine supplyBharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), India’s largest power equipment manufacturer, said it has signed an agreement with Shell, the Netherlands-based global energy and petrochemicals giant, for supply of gas turbines and generators over the next five years. “Under the Enterprise Framework Agreement (EFA), BHEL will supply Gas Turbine Generator (GTG) packages to Shell in select locations including Asia-Pacific, Middle-East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa,” BHEL said in a statement. The company did not disclose financial details of the deal.

Morgan Stanley raises Tata Motors to 'overweight'Morgan Stanley upgrades Tata Motors to 'overweight' from 'equalweight', citing more stability in the China market, the prospect for improved profitability in India, and a "strong" pipeline for unit Jaguar Land Rover, among other factors. The upgrade comes as the investment bank raises its view on India's medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) sector to 'attractive', saying the segment cycle should hit a trough in the next six months.

Mahindra Holidays acquires 49% stake in IHGCL, adds resortMahindra Holidays & Resorts India (MHRIL) said it has acquired 49% stake in Infinity Hospitalities Group Company for an undisclosed sum following which it has added a new resort in Bangkok. "The addition (of the resort) has been made by acquiring 49% equity share capital of Infinity Hospitalities Group Company (IHGCL)...," MHRIL said in a statement.

NTPC in talks with Chattisgarh govt for geothermal studyState-owned NTPC is likely to sign an agreement with the Chhattisgarh government to prepare a study on geothermal reserves available in the mineral rich state and advanced talks are on in this regard. "Chhattisgarh government may sign a pact with NTPC to study geothermal reserves in the state, (it) may form a Joint Venture for the same," a state government official said.

Bharat Forge to set up SEZ for educational institutionsBharat Forge, the 2.5 billion forging conglomerate and the largest exporter of auto components from India, is setting up a special economic zone for education institutions in Khed near Pune. The SEZ will be operational by next year. The company has received interest from over six international universities from Europe and US, which plan to set up operations in Khed.

Wipro to focus on banks in emerging marketsWipro Technologies said it is working on emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America to grow its sophisticated IT systems for banking services. "We are working on emerging markets for our services in the three regions over the next three years," said Suresh Raman, the Singapore-based Head of Banking Sales for Asia Pacific & Japan.

Sun Pharma may make USD 320 mn provisionSun Pharmaceutical Industries is expected to make a provisioning of around USD 320 million towards a liability claimed by American drug maker Wyeth, sources said. Wyeth was acquired by Pfizer in 2009 in a long-running patent dispute over gastrointestinal drug Protonix. The estimate is based on provisioning recently made by Teva, which may also be liable for some of the damages. When asked if Sun Pharma was planning to make any such provisioning towards the claims made by Wyeth, the spokesperson of the domestic drug maker said, “We will study the matter and decide.”

JSW Cement to double production by MarchJSW Cement, the cement arm of the JSW Group and a new entrant in the industry, is looking at doubling its cement production capacity to 400,000 ton per month by March next year. The company has a grinding facility at Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh with an installed capacity of 4.8 million ton per annum (mtpa), of which, only 50% of the capacity is being utilised.

Business Line

SAIL output up 4% in OctoberSAIL on Tuesday said it has registered a production growth of 4% in hot metal and 2% each in crude steel and saleable steel for October 2012 against the same month in the previous year. The public sector company produced of 1.2 million tons of hot metal, 1.14 million tonnes of crude steel and 1.01 million tons if saleable steel in October, SAIL said in a statement.

Economics Times

IL&FS and Logix Group call off Rs 6 bn dealA multi-crore deal between private equity firm IL&FS Investment Managers and real estate developer Logix Group has been stalled, with investors get cautious about backing realty projects.The proposed deal was estimated to be about Rs 6 billion, through which the Logix Group would sell four office buildings in Noida to IL&FS Investment. The listed private equity firm was to acquire the complete stake in the Logix Group project.

SAIL gets iron ore block near Bhilai plantSteel Authority of India has managed to get a lucrative iron ore block in Chhattisgarh, a state that houses the company's most profitable unit, the Bhilai steel plant. The new block at Eklama is likely to compensate the state-owned steel giant for the tardy progress in development of its green field mines at Rowghat, where work has been thwarted due to repeated Maoist threats. The Rowghat project will be taken up only under special security cover provided by the union home ministry. SAIL, which plans to invest Rs 50 billion to develop the Rowghat mine, including a 90-km railway line, had earlier hoped to produce about 14 million tons of iron ore from Rowghat, beginning 2015.

Mint

Volkswagen India to focus on strengthening salesVolkswagen India, the Indian arm of the biggest European car maker, will focus more on strengthening its sales and service network and less on expanding market share at least until 2015. Sales at the car maker, which sells automobiles including the Passat, Jetta, Vento and Polo in India, have slipped this year after growing 52% in the last fiscal. In the six months starting April, Volkswagen sales declined 20% to 30,476 units, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

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